Topic to Research Question
Every research project starts with a question. Your question will allow you to select, evaluate and interpret your sources systematically. The question you start with isn’t set in stone, but will be revisited and revised as you read and interact with the sources.
Robert C. Williams suggests that a research question might:
- "ask how or why an event happened (causation, explanation)"
- "ask what the consequences were of a particular event"
- "discuss the intellectual origins of a particular idea"
- "ask what the cultural context of an event was";
- "ask whether or not an individual was responsible for a certain act"
- "ask about the social history of a political event"
- "quantify broad trends in a society at a particular time" (52)
Source: Williams, Robert C. The Historian's Toolbox: A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History. Second ed. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2007.
Helpful Resources:
Writing History by
Writing History provides a wealth of tips and advice to help students research and write essays for history classes. The book covers all aspects of writing about history, including finding topics and researching them, interpreting source materials, drawing inferences from sources, and constructing arguments.
Call Number: D16 .S864 2004ISBN: 9780195166095Publication Date: 2003-07-17
A Pocket Guide to Writing in History by
A Pocket Guide to Writing in History is the concise, trusted, and easy-to-use guide for the writing and research skills needed in undergraduate history courses. Now thoroughly updated to reflect the 2017 Chicago guidelines, the ninth edition ensures that students have the most up-to-date advice and ample instruction for conducting responsible research.
Call Number: D13 .R295 2015ISBN: 9781457690884Publication Date: 2015-01-16
The Craft of Research by
Since 1995, more than 150,000 students and researchers have turned to The Craft of Research for clear and helpful guidance on how to conduct research and report it effectively . Now, master teachers Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams present a completely revised and updated version of their classic handbook. Like its predecessor, this new edition reflects the way researchers actually work: in a complex circuit of thinking, writing, revising, and rethinking. It shows how each part of this process influences the others and how a successful research report is an orchestrated conversation between a researcher and a reader. Along with many other topics, The Craft of Research explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of thoughtful yet critical readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, "So what?" Celebrated by reviewers for its logic and clarity, this popular book retains its five-part structure. Part 1 provides an orientation to the research process and begins the discussion of what motivates researchers and their readers. Part 2 focuses on finding a topic, planning the project, and locating appropriate sources. This section is brought up to date with new information on the role of the Internet in research, including how to find and evaluate sources, avoid their misuse, and test their reliability. Part 3 explains the art of making an argument and supporting it. The authors have extensively revised this section to present the structure of an argument in clearer and more accessible terms than in the first edition. New distinctions are made among reasons, evidence, and reports of evidence. The concepts of qualifications and rebuttals are recast as acknowledgment and response. Part 4 covers drafting and revising, and offers new information on the visual representation of data. Part 5 concludes the book with an updated discussion of the ethics of research, as well as an expanded bibliography that includes many electronic sources. The new edition retains the accessibility, insights, and directness that have made The Craft of Research an indispensable guide for anyone doing research, from students in high school through advanced graduate study to businesspeople and government employees. The authors demonstrate convincingly that researching and reporting skills can be learned and used by all who undertake research projects. New to this edition: Extensive coverage of how to do research on the internet, including how to evaluate and test the reliability of sources New information on the visual representation of data Expanded bibliography with many electronic sources
Call Number: Q180.55.M4B66 2003ISBN: 9780226065687Publication Date: 2003-04-14
